By Jeff Provine, BLOGCRITICS.ORG

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, August 3, 2014

Fifteen years ago, Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco began collaborating on screenplays. Both were working in the film industry but had yet to make the big splash of which they dreamed.

As they were talking about their projects, "comics somehow came up," according to Brusha, who was an avid reader from age 12. He had diligently followed the X-Men and Spider-man and saw comics as a way to get work out without the production expense of film.

Tedesco, a huge movie fan, hadn't read much in the way of comics, and was a little skeptical when Brusha approached him about it. Brusha suggested Tedesco read Preacher. Tedesco was blown away by what comics could do, and, with both feet forward, they leaped into the comics world.

As they searched for an idea to produce, Tedesco says they came upon redoing public domain Grimm fairytales for a modern audience as a way to get "a license we didn't have to pay for." Both were avid fans of TheTwilight Zone and saw a chance to take classic stories and give them added twists.

Initially, the stories were episodic, like the Tales from the Crypt stories from Entertaining Comics in the 1950s. Gradually, they came together to create a whole new universe.

In 2005, the two launched Zenescope Entertainment with Grimm Fairy Tales as the anchor, and Grimm still makes up for about 80 percent of what they produce, from Brusha's estimate, in addition to their work with licensed properties like Charmed, Se7en, and Vikings.

Like the original stories of Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood, Grimm was written with female protagonists, which is a sight rarely seen in the comics industry. Tedesco notes that they "have a big female following of about 20 percent," a shockingly high number for a stereotypically male-oriented medium.

Zenescope's formula for success is great art and great storytelling. Using top-notch artists, Zenescope is famous for its style of slick panels, unending action, and eye-catching pinups. As GFT continues, new worlds like Wonderland, Neverland, and OZ have been added in a way that "it all comes together organically," according to Tedesco. They work to create an ongoing arc that is reader-friendly, something "you can pick up anywhere" that has hints to the larger world without "needing to read everything to get it."

In May of 2014, GFT had its 100th issue, and there is no sign of an end to the blossoming universe. In fact, an animated pilot is being shopped around, and Zenescope continues to partner with new clients to expand their own worlds. With stunning art and captivating stories, Zenescope has only begun.